Pedestal stand column assembly

ABSTRACT

A mobile pedestal cart having a column formed from a flat sheet bent into a tubular shape with an open side, a panel slidably mounted in the open side to complete the column and present a surface for decorative or contrast appearance, and means to permit assembly of the components by the purchaser whereby the cart may be transported in a knock down condition to conserve package size.

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ted Sttes aet 1191 Gnsdort et al. Nov. 4, 1975 PEDESTAL STAND COLUMN ASSELY 3,420,032 l/1969 Felt 52/731 [751 wait r um creve 322383; iii??? filft g xiijjiiiiij .331: 23/321 Walter E. Smith, St. Louis County, both of Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Numberg [73] Assignee: Gusdort & Sons, Inc., St. Louis, Mo. Attorney, Agent, or FirmGravely, Lieder & 22 Filed: Oct. 7, 1974 Wmdruff [21] Appl. No.: 512,546 [57] ABSTRACT A mobile pedestal cart having a column formed from ki gj a flat sheet bent into a tubular shape with an open [58] Fieid 31205426552731. side, a panel slidably mounted in the open side to c ll 88 1 108/156 complete the column and present a surface for decorative or contrast appearance, and means to permit assembly of the components by the purchaser whereby [56] References cued the cart may be transported in a knock down condi- UNTTED STATES PATENTS tion to conserve package size. 3,153,524 10/1964 Greenfield et a1. 248/l88.7 3,236,485 2/1966 Staples 248/188.7 6 Claims 5 Drawmg F'gmes U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of 2 3,917,368

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,917,368

FIG. 5

PEDESTAL STAND COLUMN ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improvements in mobile carts that are generally sold in a knock down condition and are reassembled by the purchaser.

The general concept of providing purchasers with knock down items of furniture and the like is quite old, but the usual problem is in designing the various separate components so that the job of assembly to be performed by the purchaser can be made quite easy. The design and arrangement of components for pedestal stands of either stationary or mobile character imposes certain structural problems because of the weight of objects to be placed thereon. In the present instance the mobile cart is designed with the idea of its being used to support a television receiver which can be quite heavy. Exceptionally robust components are required and this is particularly true in connection with a single column support for the table top which carries the heavy object.

In the construction of a pedestal cart or stand for the support of heavy objects the column has to be of a size that will support the load, and this is especially true where mobility is desired because of the lateral loads which are imposed in moving the stand from place to place. Normally available structural members are not particularly desirable and therefore it is an important object of the present invention to provide a column which can be fabricated from sheet material and formed into sizes that will support the loads encountered. It is also an object of this invention to be able to create a column for a pedestal stand or cart that has an attractive appearance without detracting from the load carrying ability.

In connection with assembling components of a knock down article such as the mobile cart hereinafter to be described, it is desirable to arrange the components so that looseness will not develop, thereby avoiding the weakening of the components when subjected to hard usage. Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to simplify the assembly of components that are merchandised in a knock down condition so that structural loads will be handled in the most advantageous manner.

A perferred embodiment of the present invention is in the form of a pedestal stand which combines floor engaging leg means, a platform top, and a column supporting and interconnecting the leg means and the top and being secured to these parts by means that will retain the initial structural connection without becoming loosened. In the perferred embodiment the supporting column is fabricated from sheet material that can be shaped to admit surface treatment that will enhance the appearance without detriment to the structural characteristics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present mobile cart shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of the presently perferred embodiment of a mobile cart showing the assembled condition thereof;

FIG. 2 is a partly sectioned and fragmentary view of the mobile cart as seen along line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the supporting column illustrating the manner in which the column is fabricated using shet material;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken at line 44 in FIG. 1 to show the manner incorporating a separate panel in the column; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the securing bracket attached to the underside of the platform. top.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 discloses the mobile pedestal cart in its assembled condition, and it can be seen to include a platform top 10, a single column 11 and crossed leg bars 12 and 13, with the leg bars 12 and 13 suitably mounted on casters 14. The leg bars 12 and 13 are suitably notched in a well-known manner at the crossover area so that they will lie in the same plane and thereby provide a level support with the casters 14 for the platform top 10.

Turning now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 it can be seen that the column 11 comprises a sheet metal structure having a back wall 15, side walls 16 and 17 and flanges l8 and 19 formed respectively on the side walls 16 and 17. The initial fabrication of the column 11 is performed by bending the side walls 16 and 17 to an angular relation to the back wall 15 so that the inside corner angle A will be less than In the perferred form the side walls 16 and 17 are over-bent so that on springback the inside corner angles will be approximately 88 /2. The respective flanges 18 and 19 on the side walls 16 and 17 are bent inwardly so as to form a 90 angle with the respective side walls. It should now be appreciated that as the side walls 16 and 17 are spread outwardly to increase the inside comer angles A with the back wall 15 to 90, the flanges 18 and 19 will become substantially aligned or coplanar and the column will form a regular rectangle in section.

The gap space between the intum flanges 18 and 19 is provided to receive a separately formed panel 20 which is formed with grooves 21 and 22 in its opposite longitudinal edges so that the outer surface 23 of the panel 20 will have an external lip for concealing the edges of the flanges 18 and 19. The depth of the grooves 21 and 22 is controlled to hold the side walls 16 and 17 in the desired 90 position into the space between the flanges 18 and 19 when these flanges have been spread apart so as to enter the grooves 21 and 22 in the panel. Since there is a certain amount of resilience in the side walls 16 and 17 the spreading of these walls will cause the flanges 18 and 19 to exert a gripping action in the grooves of the panel 20, thereby assuring the retention of the panel. 20 in its final assembled position.

FIG. 2 shows the position of the bracket 24 on the underside of the platform top 1.0, and the bracket is held in position by suitable threaded elements 25 passing through the mounting flanges 25 and into the surface of the top 10. The bracket 24 is formed with slanted walls 27 that converge to the outer wall 28 which forms a crotch for reception of a plate 29 having suitable thickness to receive threads 30 in the respective apertures 31 that are aligned with apertures in the wall 28 of the bracket. The threaded apertures 31 receive the upper threaded ends of tension rods 32, there being two such rods although only one can be seen in FIG. 2. It is necessary to assemble the rods 32 in the bracket 24 before placing the column 1 1 in position so as to conceal the rods 32 and the bracket 24. The leg bars 12 and 13 are placed in crossed positions and the column 11 is then placed over the crossed leg bars so that a portion of the side walls 16 and 17 may extend downwardly between the leg bars and thereby fix the crossed relation of these bars. In placing the column 11 over the leg bars it is necessary to have the tension rods 32 pass outside of the leg bars so that they will be on each side of the crossover zone and in position to be inserted in apertures in the bottom pressure plate 33. Nuts 34 are'threaded up on the bottom ends of the tension rods 32 so as to draw the platform top down securely on the upper end of the column 11 and to exert pressure on the plate 33 to draw the leg bars 12 and 13 into'secured positions at the bottom of the column 11. It ca'nnow be seen when the tension rods 32 are in final position they will exert a pull on the bracket 24 and it is advantageous to have the bracket walls 27 formed at the angles shown in FIG. 2 so that there will be no allowance for distortion of the bracket 24 which could result in loosening the holding action of the tension rods 32,

The pedestal stand illustrated has the unique advantage that 'the column may be made in a variety of sizes and with a variety of sizes of elongated slots. The mounting of the panel member is achieved by spreading the flanges 18 and 19 to match the grooves 21 and 22, and in so doing friction is generated sufficient to retain the panel members. Furthermore, the bracket 24 used to hold the upper ends of the tension rods 32 at the underside of the top 10 is shaped so that the sides 27 are stressed substantially in tension so as to avoid bending thereof. The manner of forming the column 11 as a multi-sided member with an elongated slot or space in one side, and supplying a separate side member or panel for closing the elongated slot is unique. This avoids having to rely on standard square shapes or polygonal or round stock, and it adds the feature of being able to incorporate a surface decoration or contrast right in a structural component.

The foregoing description has related to a presently preferred embodiment and has presented the details of construction of the various components which permit the mobile cart to be sold in a knock down condition, but ready for reassembly by the purchaser without the need for more than a screwdriver and a wrench in putting the components into final assembly. The provision of the above described column 11 is unique in that it provides a separate panel 20 which can have a variety of surface treatments so as to enhance the appearance of the column. Furthermore, the column 11 can be formed of various sheet material and can be fabricated in sizes to meet the load requirements. This column, in some cases, may have its parts in the form of extrusions.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knockdown pedestal stand having components which comprise floor engaging leg means; a top; and a column for joining said top and said leg means, said column beingformed from sheet material bent into a three sided elongated member in which one side supports two opposed sides, each of said opposed sides having a flange thereon bent into opposed facing relation and being spaced to define the margins of a'slot in said column, and said column including a panel having opposite margins formed with grooves, said panel being positioned in said slot with said grooves slidingly embracing said opposed flanges.

2. In a pedestal stand having a top and leg means, the

improvement of a column connecting said top and leg means to carry the load placed on said top into said leg means, said column being formed from sheet material bent into a three sided elongated member in which one side supports two opposed sides, each of said opposed sides having a flange thereon bent into opposed facing relation and being spaced to define the margins of a slot in said column, and said column including a panel having opposite margins formed with grooves, said panel being positioned in said slot with said grooves slidingly embracing said opposed flanges.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said two opposed sides are bent from said one side to angles of less than and said panel grooves spreads said opposed flanges to enlarge said angles up to approximately 90.

4. In a pedestal stand having a top and leg means and a column connecting said top and leg means, the improvement of a column bent from sheet material into a three sided member with two opposed sides integral with a first side, flanges on each of said two opposite sides bent in facing spaced relation and spaced from said first side by the width of said two opposed sides, a panel formed with opposed marginal grooves slidingly mounted upon said spaced flanges, a bracket secured to said top and having spaced slanted walls depending from said top and joined at an outer wall, and tension rod means secured at one end in said bracket outer wall and at the other end in said leg means said bracket slanted walls being stressed in tension.

5. The pedestal stand of claim 4 wherein said bracket slanted walls are concealed within said column.

6. In a pedestal stand having a top and leg means and an interconnecting column: the improvement of the column consisting of sheet material formed with a first elongated wall, side walls extending from and forming margins of said first wall, said side walls extending to the same side of said first wall and having an angular relation of less than 90, each of said side walls having flanges thereon directed inwardly toward each other at substantially 90 to the respective side walls, said flanges being spaced apart to form an elongated slot opposite said first wall, and an insertable panel mounted in said elongated slot and having opposed marginal grooves slidably embracing said flanges, said grooves forcing said flanges apart to increase the angular relation between said first wall and said side walls to approximately 90. 

1. In a knockdown pedestal stand having components which comprise floor engaging leg means; a top; and a column for joining said top and said leg means, said column being formed from sheet material bent into a three sided elongated member in which one side supports two opposed sides, each of said opposed sides having a flange thereon bent into opposed facing relation and being spaced to define the margins of a slot in said column, and said column including a panel having opposite margins formed with grooves, said panel being positioned in said slot with said grooves slidingly embracing said opposed flanges.
 2. In a pedestal stand having a top and leg means, the improvement of a column connecting said top and leg means to carry the load placed on said top into said leg means, said column being formed from sheet material bent into a three sided elongated member in which one side supports two opposed sides, each of said opposed sides having a flange thereon bent into opposed facing relation and being spaced to define the margins of a slot in said column, and said column including a panel having opposite margins formed with grooves, said panel being positioned in said slot with said grooves slidingly embracing said opposed flanges.
 3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said two opposed sides are bent from said one side to angles of less than 90*, and said panel grooves spreads said opposed flanges to enlarge said angles up to approximately 90*.
 4. In a pedestal stand having a top and leg means and a column connecting said top and leg means, the improvement of a column bent from sheet material into a three sided member with two opposed sides integral with a first side, flanges on each of said two opposite sides bent in facing spaced relation and spaced from said first side by the width of said two opposed sides, a panel formed with opposed marginal grooves slidingly mounted upon said spaced flanges, a bracket secured to said top and having spaced slanted walls depending from said top and joined at an outer wall, and tension rod means secured at one end in said bracket outer wall and at the other end in said leg means said bracket slanted walls being stressed in tension.
 5. The pedestal stand of claim 4 wherein said bracket slanted walls are concealed within said column.
 6. In a pedestal stand having a top and leg means and an interconnecting column: the improvement of the column consisting of sheet material formed with a first elongated wall, side walls extending from and forming margins of said first wall, said side walls extending to the same side of said first wall and having an angular relation of less than 90*, each of said side walls having flanges thereon directed inwardly toward each other at substantially 90* to the respective side walls, said flanges being spaced apart to form an elongated slot opposite said first wall, and an insertable panel mounted in said elongated slot and having opposed marginal grooves slidably embracing said flanges, said grooves forcing said flanges apart to increase the angular relation between said first wall and said side walls to approximately 90*. 